Ballerina (2025)

Ballerina (2025)

 

5/10

Starring

Ana de Armas

Anjelica Huston

Gabriel Byrne

Lance Reddick

 

Directed by Len Wiseman

This movie takes place between the events of John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum (2019) and Chapter 4 (2023), and it is the fifth installment in the John Wick franchise.

I agree with a friend who described this movie as meh! This is just another revenge flick we've seen before. The story and plot aren't masterful, nor do they jump at you. It's a movie you can watch, but if you happen to miss it, you're fine, it's not that great.

I have to be honest, the movie starts strong, with the level of action you'd expect from the John Wick franchise. The way it delves into a different aspect of the franchise is fine, and you'll like the idea of John (Keanu Reeves) actually being a supporting character in this one. The movie plays around with his story arc from the first John Wick to the third. But after the initial twelve-minute start, it hits a point of boredom. There are many aspects that, if removed, wouldn’t have mattered at all in the end.

There’s a whole ten-minute segment of her getting trained and shaped into the badass she becomes, I felt that could’ve been summarized. The old '90s flicks managed to pass that on in less than 2 minutes and we have a fully fleshed ninja or lead-actor ready to take down a whole army.

Then comes the acting of the lead (Ana de Armas). Everyone else seemed fitted to their roles, but I felt she didn’t quite hit the mark, even though a lot of reviews loved her performance, I didn’t.

The movie plot is about Eve Macarro, the daughter of a Ruska Roma hitman and a cultist. When her father is killed by the cult, she’s rescued by Winston, who hands her over to the Ruska Roma. She’s turned into an assassin — the ballerina. While on an assignment, she discovers the same cultists are planning to kidnap another girl. Still bent on revenge, she tries to foil their plan. Her mission takes her to Prague and the Austrian Alps, where she uncovers family ties and it is during all this, she encounters John Wick, who tries to step in and stop her only after she disobeys the rules.

If you're into this movie for the action and the John Wick-style fights, visuals, and effects — this movie has you covered. But it lacks a good story, in my view, to make it all worth it. In the end, I wouldn’t watch this again as it just wasn’t worth it, I feel the franchise has had it’s time in the sun and should just relax for now.